1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to compositions, delivery systems and refills for sequentially emitting two or more compositions.
2. Description of the Background
It is known that the perception of a user of a dispensed fragrance at a constant delivery rate tends to decay over time. This decay in perception, which is commonly referred to as adaptation and/or habituation, reduces the enjoyment of the dispensed fragrance by the user. Adaptation and/or habituation are the reduction of physiological, psychological, or behavioral response occurring when a specific stimulus occurs repeatedly. It is generally believed that adaptation and/or habituation with respect to a fragrance can be reduced by changing the level of intensity of the dispensed fragrance or by dispensing a different fragrance. Fragrance dispensers and methods of dispensing fragrances that address the issue of adaptation and/or habituation are known in the art.
One such fragrance dispenser emits a first fragrance from a first refill for a first period of time followed by emission of a second fragrance from a second refill for a second period of time followed by emission of a third fragrance from a third refill for a third period of time. A further pattern or algorithm for dispensing fragrances includes emission of a first fragrance from a first refill in repeated short intermittent bursts during a first period of time, the emission of a second fragrance from a second refill in repeated short intermittent bursts during a second period of time, and the emission of a third fragrance from a third refill in repeated short intermittent bursts during a third period of time. In any of the above-described patterns or algorithms, one or more fans, heaters, or any suitable devices may be utilized to facilitate emission of each of the fragrances.
Another dispenser emits fragrances in an alternating sequence while the dispenser is activated. The dispenser includes, for example, first and second heaters for emitting first and second fragrances, respectively, from first and second refills, respectively. In one embodiment, the fragrances are alternatively emitted by deactivating one of the heaters at the same time the other of the heaters is activated. Alternatively, one of the heaters may be deactivated followed by a gap period and then the other of the heaters may be activated. Still further, one of the heaters may be activated before the other of the heaters is deactivated to create an overlap period. Existing devices offering solutions to adaptation and/or habituation may change dispensed fragrances or intensities thereof frequently over a period of a day or several hours, for example, every 45 minutes, thereby exposing a user to a seemingly constant change of fragrance.
Current multi-fragrancing devices require multiple refills and/or multiple actuators for emitting different fragrances. Multiple refills and/or multiple actuators increase the footprint and/or overall size of a dispenser from which the fragrances are emitted and/or increase the overall cost of the dispenser.
Fragrance compositions used in air fresheners are composed of a mixture of volatile Perfume Raw Materials. It is not uncommon for a fragrance composition to be composed of over 20 different Perfume Raw Materials. The chemical properties of Perfume Raw Materials in a fragrance composition often vary widely in terms of polarity, density, vapor pressure, flash point, and other properties. However, all Perfume Raw Materials must have sufficient vapor pressure to be volatilized into the air in order for human olfactory perception to occur.
Fragrance compositions that are delivered into the air evaporatively (such as by plug-in type air fresheners that evaporate a fragrance composition into the air from a heated wick) do not deliver the fragrance composition into the air in an uniform manner. Instead, the more volatile components of the fragrance composition dominate the composition that evaporates at first. As such, over time, the composition of the evaporating fragrance composition becomes more concentrated with the less volatile Perfume Raw Materials in the composition. Perfumers have learned to create fragrance compositions that partially compensate for this change in fragrance composition over time by selecting Perfume Raw Materials that will maintain a consistent olfactory experience as much as possible, even though the fragrance composition is changing over time.
It would be useful if perfumers could overcome the limitation that the more volatile ingredients in a fragrance composition are exhausted from the fragrance composition more quickly than the less volatile components of the fragrance composition in an evaporation-based fragrance delivery system (such as plug-in air fresheners).